Microsoft Teams meeting notes without a bot
Yes, Aside works with Microsoft Teams on Mac and Windows. It records your microphone and the sound your computer plays, so nothing joins the meeting and your IT team doesn’t need to approve an app in Teams.
Does Aside work with Microsoft Teams?
Yes, in the app or the browser
Aside records your microphone and the sound your computer plays. It doesn’t connect to Teams, so it doesn’t need a Teams app, a Microsoft 365 licence or admin consent. It works the same in the Teams desktop app and in Teams in your browser.
This matters most for meetings in another company’s Teams. Microsoft’s own recording can’t be started by guests or people from another organisation. Aside isn’t a participant, so that doesn’t apply. Ask before you record, as you would anywhere.
Where the transcript is made
On your computer, with an on-device speech model that downloads once, for English and 24 European languages (add another language and every call is transcribed online, as on computers too slow to keep up, but for notes-only calls on the free plan). Aside keeps the recording on your computer, with playback of your microphone and the Teams audio in sync, and suggests speaker names from clues in the call, showing why.
How to record a Teams meeting with Aside
On a Mac
1. Install Aside
Download Aside for Mac (Apple silicon, macOS 14.2 or later). It lives in the menu bar. The first time, it downloads its speech model once, about 570 MB, or 720 MB with other European languages. Add a language the on-device model doesn’t know and every call is transcribed online, so only a small model for telling speakers apart downloads. On the free plan, in 13 of those languages, a 990 MB model downloads too, for the calls Aside doesn’t guide.
2. Allow the microphone and Mac audio
On first run, macOS asks to let Aside use your microphone and the sound your computer plays. Allow both. You do this once, not for each call or each app.
3. Record the call
Join from Teams or the meeting link as usual. Start recording from the menu bar or press ⌃⌥P. When the call ends, press ⌃⌥X. The transcript has your notes in place, and after a guided call (2 a week on Free, every call on the paid plan) the write-up starts when you stop.
On Windows
1. Install Aside
Get Aside from the Microsoft Store (Windows 10 version 2004 or later, or Windows 11), then click Open. It lives in the system tray, and the Store keeps it up to date. The first time, it downloads its speech model once, about 920 MB, or 990 MB with other European languages. Add a language the on-device model doesn’t know and every call is transcribed online, so only a small model for telling speakers apart downloads. On the free plan, in 13 of those languages, a 990 MB model downloads too, for the calls Aside doesn’t guide.
2. Check the microphone
Aside hears the sound your PC plays with no prompt. If Windows blocks the microphone, turn it on in Settings > Privacy & security > Microphone. You do this once, not for each call or each app.
3. Record the call
Join from Teams or the meeting link as usual. Start recording from the system tray or press CtrlAltP. When the call ends, press CtrlAltX. The transcript has your notes in place, and after a guided call (2 a week on Free, every call on the paid plan) the write-up starts when you stop.
Press ⌃⌥N or CtrlAltN in any app to add a note at that moment in the transcript, and ⌃⌥P or CtrlAltP to pause for anything off the record.
Teams recording, recap and Copilot
Teams has its own recording and transcription. AI recap and Copilot in meetings depend on your organisation’s licences, and both work from the meeting transcript.
Use Microsoft’s tools if…
- You need the video and screen share. Teams recordings capture audio, video and screen sharing.
- Your organisation has the licences for recap and Copilot, and you want the summary inside Teams.
- You want the recording and transcript in the meeting’s Recap, alongside shared files and tasks.
Use Aside if…
- You join meetings as a guest or from another organisation.
- You want English and 24 European languages transcribed on your computer, and the recording kept there.
- You also use Zoom, Meet, Slack or FaceTime and want one tool for all of them.
- You want guidance toward your goals while the meeting is happening.
Where Aside differs
Nobody is told by the app
When someone records in Teams, all participants get a notification. Aside doesn’t send one, because it isn’t in the meeting. That puts the job on you: tell people at the start, for example with a line in the meeting chat. Recording laws differ by place, and many require everyone’s consent.
Help during the meeting
Copilot answers questions you ask it. Aside works from a plan you set before the call: a few goals, background and ready answers. On a guided call (2 a week on Free, every call on the paid plan), a small pill under your camera shows which goals you’ve covered, suggests your next move and brings up your prepared answer when the topic comes up. Read AI notetaker vs live call coach for the difference.
After the meeting
After a guided call (2 a week on Free, every call on the paid plan) you get a summary, the goals you reached, next steps and a follow-up email to copy. Aside has no Teams, Outlook or CRM integration, so you paste it where it needs to go. An AI app you connect, like Claude, can read your meetings too. See features.
Sharing your screen in Teams
Sharing your screen
Aside’s pill, cards and note field are hidden from screen sharing, even when you share your whole screen in Teams. Only you see them.
Questions
Does Aside need admin approval in Microsoft Teams?
No. Aside doesn’t connect to Teams. It records your microphone and the sound your computer plays, so there’s no Teams app to approve.
Can I use Aside when I join another company’s Teams meeting?
Yes. Aside records on your computer, so it works as a guest. Tell people you’re recording, since Teams won’t notify them.
Does Aside work with Teams in the browser?
Yes. The Teams desktop app and Teams in a browser work the same way, because Aside hears the sound your computer plays.
Does Aside record the screen share?
No. Aside records audio only. If you need video or the screen share, use Teams’ own recording.
Last checked 15 Oct 2026. Products change, so check Microsoft’s own pages before you decide.
Sources
Facts about Microsoft come from its own help pages, read on 15 Oct 2026.